Method for designing layout of semiconductor integrated circuit semiconductor integrated circuit obtained by the same method and method for verifying timing thereof

ABSTRACT

First of all, a given logic circuit is divided into a combinational circuit portion and a register portion. The combinational circuit portion obtained by division is divided into a plurality of partial circuits having high connectivity. Each partial circuit is converted into a circuit having the transistor level. Then, a layout cell of the partial circuit having the transistor level is generated. Thereafter, arrangement and wiring are performed by using, as unit cells, a layout cell which corresponds to each register included in the register portion and the layout cell for each partial circuit in the combinational circuit so that a block layout is created. Accordingly, a layout having excellent characteristics can be created by a few kinds of cells in both circuits having the CMOS logic and the pass-transistor logic. In particular, the partial circuits having high connectivity are arranged in a cell in the circuit using the pass-transistor logic. Consequently, the optimum driving capability can be obtained and the layout having stable characteristics can be created. In addition, it is possible to ensure the superiority such as a reduction in area, the low consumed power, high-speed operation and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to the improvement of a method fordesigning a layout of a semiconductor integrated circuit by thecell-based automatic arrangement and wiring and a method for verifyingthe timing of the designed semiconductor integrated circuit, and moreparticularly to a layout designing method and a timing verifying methodwhich are also suitable for circuits using the pass-transistor logic aswell as the CMOS logic, a semiconductor integrated circuit in which acircuit using the pass-transistor logic and a circuit using the CMOSlogic are provided together, a layout designing method which utilizesthe cell-based automatic arrangement and wiring of the semiconductorintegrated circuit, and a semiconductor integrated circuit which is themost suitable for a reduction in voltage.

2. Background of the Art

In the prior art, the cell-based layout technique has been used as amethod for designing the layout of a semiconductor integrated circuitand a method for verifying a timing. For the same cell-based layouttechnique, there are methods which are referred to as a gate array and astandard cell. In these methods, layouts having high density which aremanually created are prepared for individual cells in advance, theconnection between the cells is defined, and arrangement and wiring areperformed on the cell level according to the connection so that thedesired block layout of a logic circuit is created.

Referring to the timing verifying technique for the layout created onthe cell base, a delay value for each cell is obtained by a circuitsimulator or the like in advance, and is assigned to each logic gate toverify a timing.

In the cell-based designing technique according to the prior artdescribed above, a cell which is based on a CMOS circuit is used veryoften for the following reason. In the CMOS circuit, the input signal ofthe cell is sent to only the gate terminal of a MOS transistor, and thegate terminal is divided into a source terminal and a drain terminal ona current basis. Consequently, the CMOS circuit is easily operatedindependently on a cell unit as electrical characteristics. Accordingly,the electrical characteristics can be held on the cell unit whenperforming layout design and timing verification.

Recently, a circuit using the pass-transistor logic which performslogical operation by sending an input signal to the drain terminal of aMOS transistor as well as the gate terminal thereof has been used inplace of a complete CMOS circuit. In some cases, the circuit having thepass-transistor logic is superior to the complete CMOS circuit inrespect of a decrease in area, a reduction in consumed power, anincrease in speed and the like. These cases have been disclosed inDocument 1: K. Yano, et al., "A 2.8-ns CMOS 16×16-b Multiplier UsingComplementary Pass-Transistor Logic" (IEEE Journal of Solid-StateCircuits, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 388-395, April 1990), and Document 2: A.Parameswar, et al., "A High Speed, Low Power, Swing RestoredPass-Transistor Logic Based Multiply and Accumulate Circuit forMultimedia Applications" (Proceeding of IEEE 1994 Custom IntegratedCircuits Conference, pp. 278 to 281) and the like.

The technique for designing the layout of the circuit using thepass-transistor logic has been disclosed in Document 3: K. Yano, et al.,"Lean Integration: Achieving a Quantum Leap in Performance and Cost ofLogic LSIs" (Proceeding of IEEE 1994 Custom Integrated CircuitsConference, pp. 603-606), Document 4: Y. Sasaki, et al., "PassTransistor Based Gate Array Architecture" (1995 Symposium on VLSICircuits Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 123-124), and the like. Thedesigning method which has been proposed in the Document 3 utilizes thecell-based layout designing technique according to the prior art. Morespecifically, three kinds of cells of circuits using the pass-transistorlogic which have a plurality of input pins are prepared, the assignmentof each input pin (the form of signal application) is changed in thecell of each circuit using the pass-transistor logic to generate a lotof logics therein. The logics of the circuits which are given areassigned to the cells to be arranged and wired by an automaticarrangement and wiring tool according to the prior art. Thus, a blocklayout is obtained. The technique which has been proposed in theDocument 4 uses the gate array technique. A pair of P- and N-channeltype MOS transistors are laid all over the gate array according to theprior art. On the other hand, a substrate cell is used in which thenumber of N-channel type MOS transistors is greater than that ofP-channel type MOS transistors based on the average pass-transistorlogic, and the numbers of N- and P-channel type MOS transistors whichare required for the amplifier of an output portion and a memory cell.

However, the layout designing technique of the circuit using thepass-transistor logic which has been disclosed in the Document 3utilizes plural kinds (three kinds) of unit cells in which a smallnumber of transistors form a cell. Consequently, various kinds of logicscan be generated by the combination of the plural kinds of unit cells sothat the degree of freedom of a logic type can be enhanced. However, thetype of the unit cell is restricted to plural kinds (three kinds). Forthis reason, there is a case where the driving capability, the area andthe like which are suitable for the circuit cannot be obtained whencompleting the layout so that circuit characteristics become unstableand the superiority such as a decrease in area, a reduction in consumedpower, an increase in speed or the like of the pass-transistor logic isimpeded.

It can be supposed that a lot of transistors form a cell so as to ensurethe stabilization of the circuit characteristics and the superiority ofthe pass-transistor logic, for example. In this case, there is a defectthat many kinds of cells should be prepared in advance so as to enhancethe degree of freedom of the logic type. Not only the circuit using thepass-transistor logic but also the logic circuit using the complete CMOScircuit has the defect that many kinds of cells should be prepared. Inother words, many kinds of cells should be prepared for the drivingcapability and the logic classification to create the optimum layout inthe cell-based layout design of the logic circuit using the completeCMOS circuit.

In the logic circuit using the pass-transistor logic, when the loadcapacity in the circuit is changed depending on the self cell state, thedelay characteristics of the circuit are varied. Furthermore, when thesource and drain terminals of the transistor are connected to othercells through signal paths respectively, the delay characteristics ofthe circuit are varied depending on the state of the other cells.According to the circuit using the pass-transistor logic, consequently,in the case where it is verified whether or not the created block layoutsatisfies the desired timing characteristics, correct timingverification cannot be performed even though the delay characteristicsfor each cell are given to the logic timing verifying circuit having thegate level according to the prior art so as to perform verification. Onthe other hand, in the case where the created layout is wholly verifiedby a circuit simulation, a very long computation time and a very largestorage region are necessary, which is not practical.

The semiconductor integrated circuits using the pass-transistor logicaccording to the prior art which have been described in the Document 1and the Document 2 are applied to specific arithmetic units such as anadder, a multiplier and the like so as to create a layout by manualdesign (custom design). Consequently, it is difficult to automaticallydesign the random logic by using general logic synthesis and the like.

By the layout designing technique which has been disclosed in theDocument 3 and the Document 4, the random logic can automatically bedesigned. However, in the case where all circuits are designed based onthe pass-transistor logic by using the layout designing techniqueaccording to the prior art, the following defects are caused. In thepass-transistor logic, a signal is propagated between the drain and thesource of the transistor. Consequently, a voltage drop which isequivalent to the threshold voltage of the transistor is generated. Forthis reason, it is necessary to use an amplifier for signalamplification which amplifies the signal having a voltage drop so as tohave an original voltage. It is desirable that the amplifier should beformed by a small number of transistors. On the other hand, in the casewhere the basic logic such as an AND circuit, an OR circuit or the likeis provided to enhance the degree of freedom of the logic, the followingdefect is caused. More specifically, if the cell having the basic logicis formed by the circuit using the pass-transistor logic, the amplifierfor signal amplification is added every basic logic to form a cell sothat the number of transistors which form the cell and the area areincreased. Consequently, the superiority in area to the cell having theCMOS logic is eliminated. In the case where the composite logic which isobtained by combining a plurality of AND circuits, a plurality of ORcircuits and the like forms a cell so as to increase the number of thetransistors using the pass-transistor logic for an amplifier for signalamplification and to reduce the overhead of the amplifier for signalamplification, the degree of freedom of the logic is lowered. As aresult, many kinds of cells should be prepared in advance in order toobtain a desired semiconductor integrated circuit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a layoutdesigning method capable of implementing a layout having optimum delaycharacteristics with a smaller number of cell types for a circuit usingthe pass-transistor logic as well as the CMOS logic, and moreparticularly to provide a layout designing method capable of ensuringthe stable circuit characteristics and superiority such as a decrease inarea, a reduction in consumed power and an increase in speed for thecircuit using the pass-transistor logic.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a timingverifying method on the gate level which can accurately performprocessings with high precision at high speed also for the layout of thecircuit using the pass-transistor logic which is created.

It is a third object of the present invention to perform logic synthesisof a circuit using the pass-transistor logic and automatic layout designwhile ensuring the superiority in speed, area and consumed power by acircuit structure using the pass-transistor logic for a circuit usingthe random logic and the like as well as a specific arithmetic unit, andto perform automatic design in which the CMOS logic and thepass-transistor logic are used together for a circuit having nosuperiority in area, delay and consumed power which uses only thepass-transistor logic.

It is a fourth object of the present invention to suppress a degradationin the signal which is propagated in a circuit using the pass-transistorlogic.

In order to accomplish the first object, the present invention employstwo structures. A first structure will be briefly described below. Acombinational circuit portion forming a semiconductor integrated circuitis divided into a plurality of circuit portions having high connectivityin which signal paths are connected. A layout is generated for eachcircuit portion. Each layout is used as a unit cell to generate theblock layout of a logic circuit. A second structure will be brieflydescribed below. For example, there are prepared plural kinds ofsubcells which have a smaller number of transistors than in the cell ofthe circuit using the pass-transistor logic described in the Document 4according to the prior art. These subcells are combined to form the cellof the circuit using the pass-transistor logic and the like. Thus, aproper layout is designed with a fewer kinds of cells.

In order to accomplish the second object, the present invention employstwo structures. A first structure will be briefly described below. Thedelay characteristics are obtained every plural circuit portions havinghigh connectivity in which signal paths are connected in thecombinational circuit portion. Consequently, proper delaycharacteristics can be obtained also in the circuit using thepass-transistor logic. According to a second structure, minimum andmaximum delay values are obtained in the circuit using thepass-transistor logic in consideration of a variation in the delaycharacteristics. Thus, the timing conditions given by using both limitdelay values are examined.

In order to accomplish the third object, the present invention employsthree structures. A first structure will be briefly described below. Thebasic logic of an inverter, a NAND circuit and the like which aresuitable for the CMOS logic is assigned to a CMOS logic layout cell,while a composite gate and an arithmetic unit having the superiority inthe area and the speed are assigned to a pass-transistor logic layoutcell. These cells are arranged and wired together. A second structurewill be briefly described below. A plurality of basic pass-transistorlogic layout cells are combined to form a composite pass-transistorlogic layout cell. The composite pass-transistor logic layout cell andthe CMOS logic layout cell are arranged and wired together. According toa third structure, a predetermined graph is made for the circuit usingthe pass-transistor logic. Thus, the number of wiring tracks isminimized to obtain a layout with high density.

In order to accomplish the fourth object, the present invention employstwo structures. A first structure will be briefly described below. Acircuit using the pass-transistor logic is formed by using a transistorhaving a threshold voltage which is lower than that of a transistorforming a circuit using the CMOS logic. A second structure will bebriefly described below. An inverter for signal amplification isprovided on the output portion of the circuit using the pass-transistorlogic. The threshold voltages of two transistors which form the inverterare properly set, respectively. Consequently, a degradation in thesignal can be suppressed.

A first specific structure of the present invention which accomplishesthe first object is a method for designing the layout of a semiconductorintegrated circuit, comprising a circuit dividing processing of dividinga given logic circuit into a combinational circuit portion and aregister portion, a transistor circuit converting processing of graspinga partial circuit in which signal paths are connected to each otherexcept for signal paths connected to the output of the register portionin the combinational circuit portion, and converting the partial circuitinto a circuit having the transistor level, a partial circuit layoutgenerating processing of generating the layout cell of each partialcircuit having the transistor level which is obtained by conversion, anda layout arranging and wiring processing of performing the arrangementand wiring of a cell-based layout by using, as unit cells, the layoutcell generated for each partial circuit of the combinational circuitportion and each register included in the register portion respectively,and creating the block layout of the given logic circuit.

A second specific structure of the present invention which accomplishesthe first object is the method for designing the layout of asemiconductor integrated circuit, wherein the layouts of a plurality ofsubcells is prepared as a subcell library, the subcells being formed byat least one transistor in advance, the method further comprising a maincell generating processing of arranging and wiring some of the subcellsadjacently to each other to create the layout of a new cell, andregistering the layout of the new cell as a main cell in a main celllibrary, and a layout arranging and wiring processing of arranging andwiring the cell-based layout by using the subcell library and the maincell library as cell libraries, and creating the block layout of a givenlogic circuit.

A first structure of the present invention which accomplishes the secondobject is a method for verifying the timing of a semiconductorintegrated circuit including a combinational circuit portion and aregister portion wherein the combinational circuit portion has aplurality of partial circuits, each partial circuit having signal pathsconnected to each other except for signal paths connected to the outputof the register portion, and a layout is created by using, as unitcells, a layout cell generated for each partial circuit and eachregister included in the register portion, comprising the delaycharacteristics which are obtained in advance for each register includedin the register portion being stored in a first delay characteristiclibrary, the method comprising a partial circuit delay analyzingprocessing of analyzing a circuit based on each layout generated foreach partial circuit to obtain delay characteristics after the layout ofthe semiconductor integrated circuit is generated for the generatedlayout cell of each partial circuit, and storing the delaycharacteristics in a second delay characteristic library, and a timingverifying processing of verifying the timing of the whole semiconductorintegrated circuit whose layout is created by using, as unit gates, theregister and the partial circuit based on the first and second delaycharacteristic libraries.

A second structure of the present invention which accomplishes thesecond object is a method for verifying the timing of a semiconductorintegrated circuit including a gate in which the load capacity of aninput pin is varied depending on the state of another input pin or theinternal state, comprising the steps of obtaining, in advance, minimumand maximum capacity values which are taken in all the state for theinput pin of each gate, obtaining minimum and maximum delay values basedon the minimum and maximum capacity values of the input pins of all thegates which are connected to each output pin of each gate, and definingthe minimum and maximum delay values for each gate and examining on thegate level whether or not given timing conditions are satisfied bystatic timing analysis.

A first specific structure of the present invention which accomplishesthe third object is a method for designing a semiconductor integratedcircuit, comprising the steps of storing, in advance, a pass-transistorlogic layout cell in which at least one of the area, the delay and theconsumed power is reduced more than in a CMOS logic layout cell,storing, in advance, a CMOS logic layout cell in which at least one ofthe area, the delay and the consumed power is reduced more than in apass-transistor logic layout cell, inputting a net list from the outsidewhen designing a semiconductor integrated circuit, and arranging andwiring the pass-transistor logic layout cell and the CMOS logic layoutcell together based on the input net list.

A second specific structure of the present invention which accomplishesthe third object is a method for designing a semiconductor integratedcircuit, comprising the steps of preparing, in advance, a basicpass-transistor logic layout cell including two pairs of transistors,each transistor pair having two transistors whose sources are connectedto each other, and a CMOS logic layout cell including one or moretransistors, arranging and wiring two or more basic pass transistorlogic layout cells adjacently to each other to form a compositepass-transistor logic layout cell, and arranging and wiring thecomposite pass-transistor logic layout cell and the CMOS logic layoutcell together to create a desired block layout.

A third specific structure of the present invention which accomplishesthe third object is a method for designing a semiconductor integratedcircuit including a circuit using the pass-transistor logic that isexpressed by a transistor pair having two transistors whose sources areconnected to each other, the method comprising the steps of inputting anet list having the transistor level of the circuit using thepass-transistor logic, making a graph in which the wiring between apexescorresponds to a branch, each transistor pair using the pass-transistorlogic acting as the apex in the input net list, and arranging, in theone-dimensional direction, layout cells including each transistor pairusing the pass-transistor logic in order of the apexes of the graph.

A first specific structure of the present invention which accomplishesthe fourth object is a semiconductor integrated circuit comprising acircuit using the pass-transistor logic and a circuit using the CMOSlogic, wherein the circuit using the pass-transistor logic is formed byusing a transistor having a threshold voltage which is lower than thatof a transistor that forms the circuit using the CMOS logic.

A second specific structure of the present invention which accomplishesthe fourth object is a semiconductor integrated circuit comprising acircuit using the pass-transistor logic and a circuit using the CMOSlogic, wherein an inverter for signal amplification which amplifies theoutput signal of an output portion of the circuit using thepass-transistor logic is added to the output portion, the inverter forsignal amplification including a transistor having the same polarity asthat of a transistor forming the circuit using the pass-transistor logicand a transistor having the reverse polarity to that of the transistorforming the circuit using the pass-transistor logic, the transistorhaving the same polarity being formed by a transistor having a thresholdvoltage which is lower than that of the transistor forming the circuitusing the pass-transistor logic, and the transistor having the reversepolarity being formed by a transistor having a threshold voltage whichis higher than that of the transistor forming the circuit using thepass-transistor logic.

According to the invention having the first structure which accomplishesthe first object, the given logic circuit is first divided into thecombinational circuit portion and the register portion. Each partialcircuit having high connectivity which forms the combinational circuitportion is converted into the circuit having the transistor level. Then,the layout cell of the partial circuit having the transistor level isgenerated. Thereafter, arrangement and wiring are performed by using, asunit cells, the layout cell which corresponds to each register includedin the register portion and the layout cell for each partial circuit inthe combinational circuit portion so that the block layout is created.In the combinational circuit portion, the layout cell is generated foreach partial circuit having high connectivity. The same layout cell foreach partial circuit acts as the unit cell. Consequently, the layouthaving excellent characteristics can be created with a few kinds ofcells in both the circuits using the CMOS logic and the pass-transistorlogic. In case of the circuit using the pass-transistor logic,particularly, the circuits having high connectivity are arranged in acell. Consequently, optimum driving capability can be obtained and alayout having stable characteristics can be created. In addition, it ispossible to ensure the superiority such as a decrease in area, areduction in consumed power, high-speed operation, and the like.

According to the invention having the second structure whichaccomplishes the first object, a plurality of subcells which areprepared in advance in the subcell library are arranged and wiredadjacently to each other to create the layout of a new cell (main cell).The same layout is registered in the main cell library. Then, the layoutof the block is created by using the subcell library and the main celllibrary as cell libraries. The subcells are combined to form the maincell. Therefore, the composite gate and the circuit portion using thepass-transistor logic can be formed by the combination of the subcells.Accordingly, the block layout having excellent characteristics can becreated with a few kinds of cells even though many kinds of cell layoutsare not prepared in advance.

According to the invention having the first structure which accomplishesthe second object, the delay characteristics are obtained for eachregister in advance with respect to the register portion which requiresa lot of computation time and a large storage region for delay analysis.In each partial circuit of the combinational circuit portion, that is,the circuit portion having high connectivity which includes the circuitsusing the pass-transistor logic and the like, each partial circuit isgenerated by a layout cell. The circuit analysis is performed for eachlayout cell to obtain the delay characteristics. Therefore, the delaycharacteristics can accurately be obtained so that timing verificationcan be performed with high precision. In addition, the delaycharacteristics are obtained every layout. Therefore, verification canbe performed at higher speed than in the case where the timing isverified for the whole layout of the obtained logic circuit.

According to the invention having the second structure whichaccomplishes the second object, a predetermined fixed value is not usedbut minimum and maximum capacity values which can be taken in all thestate are used as the capacity value of the input pin of each gate.Based on both capacity values, the minimum and maximum delay values areobtained. Both delay values are defined for the gate to perform timingverification by static timing analysis. Therefore, it is possible toperform accurate timing verification in consideration of the limit delayvalue in all combinations which are possible. In addition, theverification is performed on the gate level. Consequently, the timingverification can be performed at high speed.

According to the invention having the first structure which accomplishesthe third object, the basic logic of the inverter, the NAND, the NOR andthe like which are suitable for the CMOS logic in the given net list isassigned to the CMOS logic layout cell. The composite gate, thearithmetic unit and the like which can have higher superiority in thearea and the speed by using the pass-transistor logic than by using theCMOS logic are assigned to the pass-transistor logic layout cell.Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor integrated circuithaving a layout which utilizes the superiority of each of the CMOS logicand the pass transistor logic.

The invention having the second structure which accomplishes the thirdobject has the following functions. More specifically, thepass-transistor logic can be expressed by the transistor pair having atransistor whose gate receives the positive logic of an input signal anda transistor whose gate receives the negative logic of the input signal,respective sources of the transistors being connected to each other. Byusing the transistor pair as the apex to assign the connection of thetransistors between the apex to a branch, the transistor pair can berepresented by a binary tree in which an output acts as a root. Inaddition, two pairs of transistors are required because the output alsoneeds the positive logic and the negative logic. Four transistorsforming two pairs of transistors are formed in the basic pass-transistorlogic layout cell. Accordingly, if two or more basic pass-transistorlogic layout cells are arranged and wired adjacently to each other toform a composite pass-transistor logic layout cell, the layout of thepass-transistor logic can be created for any logic. Furthermore, thecell suitable for the CMOS logic or the amplifier for signalamplification of the circuit using the pass-transistor logic is preparedin the CMOS logic layout cell. If the CMOS logic layout cell and thecomposite pass-transistor logic layout cell are provided together toperform cell-based automatic arrangement and wiring, the desired blocklayout can be created. Consequently, the optimum block layout can beimplemented.

According to the invention having the third structure which accomplishesthe third object, the graph is made wherein a branch represents a wiringbetween the layout cells, and a branch which traverses the apexesarranged in the one-dimensional direction represents the number ofwiring tracks required when the layout cells are arranged in onedimension direction. Accordingly, if the apexes are arranged in order,the number of the branches which traverse the apexes is minimized andthe number of wiring tracks to be required is minimized. Thus, it ispossible to obtain a semiconductor integrated circuit having a layoutwith higher density.

According to the invention having the first structure which accomplishesthe fourth object, the signal input to the drain of the transistor ispropagated to the output portion through the drain-source of thetransistor in the circuit using the pass-transistor logic. In the casewhere the signal is propagated between the drain and the source, forexample, the Hi potential is propagated in an N-channel type MOStransistor, the Hi potential is increased to a voltage which is lowerthan a gate voltage by a threshold voltage. In the case where the Lopotential is propagated in a P-channel type MOS transistor, the Lopotential is reduced to a voltage which is higher than the gate voltageby the threshold voltage. However, since the transistor having a lowthreshold voltage is used as the transistor in which the signal ispropagated, such influence can be suppressed. Consequently, it ispossible to implement the circuit using the pass-transistor logic whichhave more stages. In addition, the number of the amplifiers for signalamplification to be required can be reduced. Thus, it is possible toimplement the circuit using the pass-transistor logic which can increasethe speed and reduce the area still more.

According to the invention having the second structure whichaccomplishes the fourth object, the following functions are obtained.More specifically, the signal which is propagated in the circuit usingthe pass-transistor logic is amplified by the inverter for signalamplification which is provided in the output portion. In the case wherethe circuit using the pass-transistor logic is an N-channel type MOStransistor, the Hi potential is degraded by the influence of thethreshold voltage. If the circuit using the pass-transistor logic is aP-channel type MOS transistor, the Lo potential is degraded. The signalhaving the degraded Hi potential is sent to the gate input of theN-channel type transistor in the inverter for signal amplification, andis amplified. The signal having the degraded Lo potential is sent to thegate input of the P-channel type transistor in the inverter for signalamplification, and is amplified. However, in the case where signalamplification is performed by the transistor having an ordinarythreshold voltage, the operating speed of the transistor is reducedbecause the signal is degraded. According to the present invention, theoutput of the N-channel type transistor is amplified by using theN-channel type transistor having a low threshold voltage and the samepolarity, and the output of the P-channel type transistor is amplifiedby using the P-channel type transistor having a low threshold voltageand the same polarity in the circuit using the pass-transistor logic.Consequently, the transistor can be operated at much higher speed eventhough the signal is degraded.

The above-mentioned objects and novel characteristics of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptionin conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings show preferred embodiments of the present inventionwherein:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of a method for designing thelayout of a semiconductor integrated circuit according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a net list having the gatelevel of a logic circuit according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a net list having the celllevel of the logic circuit according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4(a) is a diagram showing an example in which a partial circuitaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention is convertedinto a circuit having the transistor level;

FIG. 4(b) is a diagram showing an example in which another partialcircuit is converted into the circuit having the transistor level in thesame manner;

FIG. 5(a) is a diagram showing an example of the layout of a partialcircuit which is generated by cell generation according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5(b) is a diagram showing an example of the layout of anotherpartial circuit in the same manner;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the layout of a logic circuitgenerated by an arrangement and wiring processing according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of a method for designing thelayout of a semiconductor integrated circuit according to second andthird embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a subcell library according tothe second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a net list of a logic circuitaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a main cell layout accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a block layout output by anautomatic arrangement and wiring processing according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a subcell library accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a net list according to thethird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a main cell layout accordingto the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a block layout output by anautomatic arrangement and wiring processing according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a cell according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a circuit using the cellshown in FIG. 16 according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a system flowchart showing the flow of a method for designinga semiconductor integrated circuit according to a fifth embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a layout cell libraryaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a block layout according tothe fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a net list having the celllevel of a logic circuit according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a net list having thepass-transistor logic of a full adder according to the sixth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a first layout cell accordingto the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a wiring pattern layout cellaccording to the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a layout cell correspondingto a carry arithmetic circuit of the full adder according to the sixthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the firstlayout cell in the case where the arithmetic circuit for addition in thefull adder is formed according to the sixth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a layout cell correspondingto the arithmetic circuit for addition in the full adder according tothe sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of another net list of thearithmetic circuit for addition in the full adder according to the sixthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29(a) is a diagram showing two basic pass-transistor logic layoutcells which form the first layout cell in the case where the arithmeticcircuit for addition in the full adder is formed according to the sixthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29(b) is a diagram showing a layout cell in which a part of the twobasic layout cells are combined so as to be shared;

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of another layout cellcorresponding to the arithmetic circuit for addition in the full adderaccording to the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a circuit having the transistor level inwhich the OR and inverter logic is described by the CMOS logic accordingto the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of a block layout according tothe sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 33 is a system flowchart showing the flow of a layout designingmethod according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a net list using the passtransistor logic according to the seventh embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of a graph made based on the netlist using the pass-transistor logic according to the seventh embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of a block layout according tothe seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing the partial circuit of a semiconductorintegrated circuit according to an eighth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing the partial circuit of a semiconductorintegrated circuit according to a ninth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 39 is a circuit diagram showing, in detail, a substrate biasgenerating circuit according to the ninth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing the partial circuit of a semiconductorintegrated circuit according to a tenth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing the partial circuit of a semiconductorintegrated circuit according to an eleventh embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing, in detail, a substrate bias generatingcircuit according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration which implementsa method for designing a semiconductor integrated circuit according tothe present invention;

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of a cell stored in apass-transistor logic layout cell library;

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a circuit in which an exclusive-OR circuit,a selector, a half adder and a full adder are implemented by using aninverter gate, an AND gate and the like; and

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing a circuit having the transistor level inwhich the exclusive-OR circuit, the selector, the half adder and thefull adder are implemented by using the CMOS logic.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described belowwith reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of a method for designing thelayout of a semiconductor integrated circuit and a method for verifyinga timing thereof.

In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 101 designates a net list having thegate level of a given logic circuit, and the reference numeral 102designates a circuit dividing processing in which the net list 101having the gate level is divided into a combinational circuit portionand a register portion, and the combinational circuit portion which isobtained by division is then divided into a plurality of partialcircuits. Each partial circuit forms a cell to generate the net listhaving the cell level. The reference numeral 103 designates a net listhaving the cell level generated by the circuit dividing processing 102.

The reference numeral 104 designates a transistor circuit convertingprocessing for converting, into a circuit having the transistor level,each partial circuit which is obtained by the circuit dividingprocessing 102. The reference numeral 105 designates a net list havingthe transistor level for each partial circuit generated by thetransistor circuit converting processing 104. The reference numeral 106designates a partial circuit layout generating processing in which alayout is generated from the net list 105 of the partial circuit havingthe transistor level. The reference numeral 107 designates a layout cellof the partial circuit generated by the partial circuit layoutgenerating processing 106.

The reference numeral 108 designates a given register layout celllibrary. The reference numeral 109 designates a layout arrangement andwiring processing in which the net list 103 having the cell level, thelayout cell 107 of the partial circuit and the layout cell library 108of the register are input to perform the cell-based arrangement andwiring so that a layout is generated. The reference numeral 110designates layout data generated by the arrangement and wiringprocessing 109.

The reference numeral 111 designates a register portion delaycharacteristic library (first delay characteristic library) for storingthe delay characteristics of a register portion. The reference numeral112 designates a partial circuit delay analyzing processing forperforming the delay analysis on the layout cell 107 of the partialcircuit. The reference numeral 113 designates a partial circuit delaycharacteristic library (second delay characteristic library) for storingthe delay characteristics which are analyzed by the partial circuitdelay analyzing processing 112. The reference numeral 114 designates atiming verifying processing for verifying the timing of a given logiccircuit based on the register portion delay characteristic library 111,the partial circuit delay characteristic library 113, and the net list103 having the cell level. The reference numeral 115 designates adeciding processing for returning to the transistor circuit convertingprocessing 104 when the result of the timing verifying processing 114does not satisfy a desired timing.

The detailed processings of the method for designing the layout of asemiconductor integrated circuit and the method for verifying a timingthereof according to the present embodiment will be described below inaccordance with the flowchart of FIG. 1 by using the examples of FIGS.2, 3, 4(a) and 4(b), 5(a) and 5(b), and 6.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a logic circuit which acts as an inputaccording to the present embodiment corresponding to the net list 101having the gate level shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral200 designates a register portion, the reference numeral 201 designatesa register cell which forms the register portion 200, the referencenumeral 202 designates a clock input terminal to the register cell 201,the reference numeral 203 designates a data input terminal of theregister cell 201, the reference numeral 204 designates a data outputterminal of the register cell 201, the reference numeral 205 designatesa combinational circuit portion, and the reference numerals 206 and 207designate a plurality of (two in FIG. 2) partial circuits which form thecombinational circuit portion 205, respectively.

The partial circuits 206 and 207 are circuit portions in which signalpaths are connected to each other except for signal paths connected tothe outputs of the register portion 200.

According to the present embodiment, a net list which represents thelogic circuit of FIG. 2 is divided into the register portion 200 and thecombinational circuit portion 205 by the circuit dividing processing102. Furthermore, the combinational circuit portion 205 is divided intoa plurality of partial circuits 206 and 207. Then, the circuit dividingprocessing 102 also generates a net list which corresponds to a circuithaving the cell level shown in FIG. 3 from a net list which correspondsto a circuit having the gate level shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 shows a logic circuit having the cell level in which each of thepartial circuits 206 and 207 that are obtained by the division of thecircuit dividing processing 102 is replaced with a cell. In FIG. 3, thereference numeral 301 designates a cell which corresponds to the partialcircuit 206, and the reference numeral 302 designates a cell whichcorresponds to the partial circuit 207.

Each of the partial circuits 206 and 207 which are obtained by thedivision of the circuit dividing processing 102 is converted, by thetransistor level circuit converting processing 104, into a circuithaving the transistor level shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b). In addition,the net list 105 having the transistor level is generated for eachpartial circuit.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are diagrams showing circuits having the transistorlevel in which the partial circuits 206 and 207 are implemented by theN-channel pass-transistor logic by using a BDD (Binary Decision Diagram)respectively in the transistor level circuit converting processing 104.The partial circuits 206 and 207 correspond to FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b),respectively.

In the partial circuit layout cell generating processing 106, the netlist 105 for each partial circuit is input to generate the layout cellsof the partial circuits 206 and 207. As a method for generating thelayout cell of the partial circuit, there is a method for automaticallysynthesizing layouts by the cell generation for inputting the net list105 of the partial circuit. FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) show the layouts inwhich the partial circuits having the transistor level shown in FIGS.4(a) and 4(b) are synthesized by the cell generation, respectively.While an example of the cell generation has been shown, a method forforming a layout cell is not restricted thereto but a method using asubcell and the like can be employed as in second and third embodimentsof the present invention which will be described below.

In FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the reference numeral 501 designates a cellframe, the reference numeral 502 designates a diffusion region whichforms an N-channel transistor, the reference numeral 503 designates afirst metal wiring layer, the reference numeral 504 designates a contactwhich connects the diffusion region 502 and the first metal wiring layer503, the reference numeral 505 designates a second metal wiring layer,the reference numeral 506 designates a contact which connects thediffusion region 502 and the second metal wiring layer 505, thereference numeral 507 designates a polysilicon wiring which forms thegate of a transistor, and the reference numeral 508 designates aninput-output terminal of a layout cell.

The arrangement and wiring processing 109 inputs the net list 103 havingthe cell level, the register layout cell library 108 and the layout cell107 of the partial circuit to generate the layout data 110 of a block.The arrangement and wiring processing 109 is implemented by a cell-basedautomatic arrangement and wiring system which is used for ordinarylayout design.

FIG. 6 shows a layout corresponding to the layout data 110 of a blockwhich is generated by the arrangement and wiring processing 109. FIG. 6shows the layout which corresponds to the circuit diagram of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 6, the reference numeral 601 designates a layout block outerframe, the reference numeral 602 designates a register cell, thereference numeral 603 designates a block outer clock terminal, thereference numeral 604 designates a block external power terminal, thereference numeral 605 designates a block external ground terminal, thereference numeral 606 designates a block external signal input-outputterminal, the reference numeral 607 designates a layout cell shown inFIG. 5(a) which corresponds to the partial circuit 206, the referencenumeral 608 designates a layout cell shown in FIG. 5(b) whichcorresponds to the partial circuit 207, the reference numeral 610designates a first metal wiring layer, the reference numeral 611designates a second metal wiring layer, and the reference numeral 609designates a contact which connects the first metal wiring layer 610 andthe second metal wiring layer 611.

After the layout of the block is generated as described above, thepartial circuit delay analyzing processing 112 performs circuit delayanalysis for the layout cell 107 corresponding to the partial circuits206 and 207 so that the delay characteristics of the partial circuits206 and 207 are obtained, respectively. For example, the delay model ofthe result obtained by performing the circuit delay analysis for thepartial circuit layout shown in FIG. 5(a) which is generated from thepartial circuit 206 is expressed by the following form.

    ______________________________________             cell  Cell.sub.-- a (                input A                input A.sub.-- bar                input B                input C                input C.sub.-- bar                input D                output E                A → E = 2nsec                A.sub.-- bar → E = 2nsec                B → E = 3nsec                C → E = 4nsec                C.sub.-- bar → E = 4nsec                D → E = 5nsec )    ______________________________________

In the above expression, "→" represents a time which is taken from thechange of an input signal to that of an output signal.

In the case where the partial circuits 206 and 207 have the circuitsusing the pass-transistor logic, a fourth embodiment which will bedescribed below is applied to the calculation of the delaycharacteristics.

In the timing verifying processing 114, the timing of a given logiccircuit is verified by a simulator using individual registers andindividual partial circuits as unit gates based on the partial circuitdelay characteristic library in which the above-mentioned delay model isprepared for the partial circuits 206 and 207 and the individualregister portion delay characteristics 111. In the case where timingerrors are caused when verifying the timing by a simulation, atransistor is optimized again to regenerate a circuit in the transistorcircuit converting processing 104.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, thecombinational circuit portion is divided every partial circuit havinghigh connectivity in which the signal paths are connected to each otherand the partial circuit forms a unit cell. Consequently, it is possibleto perform layout design using the existing automatic arrangement andwiring processing without developing a lot of layout cell libraries inboth of the complete CMOS circuit and the circuit using thepass-transistor logic. Furthermore, the delay characteristics areobtained for the layout of each partial circuit. Therefore, the delaycharacteristics can accurately be obtained so that timing verificationcan be performed with high precision. In addition, timing verificationcan be performed at higher speed than in the case where the timing ofthe layout of the logic circuit which is obtained is wholly verified.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described belowwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for designing the layout of asemiconductor integrated circuit according to the present invention.

In FIG. 7, the reference numeral 701 designates a subcell layout library(subcell library), the reference numeral 702 designates a net list of alogic circuit, the reference numeral 703 designates a main cell layoutgenerating processing (main cell generating processing), and thereference numeral 704 designates a main cell layout library (main celllibrary) generated by the main cell layout generating processing 703.The reference numeral 705 designates an automatic arrangement and wiringprocessing (layout arrangement and wiring processing) in which the netlist 702 of the logic circuit is converted into layout data based on thesubcell layout library 701 and the main cell layout library 704, and thereference numeral 706 designates layout data generated by the automaticarrangement and wiring processing 705.

The layout designing method shown in FIG. 7 will be described below indetail with reference to FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11. While the inside of thecell is shown by a symbol in FIGS. 8, 10 and 11, it is actually drawn bya mask pattern.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the subcell layout library 701. The layoutsof a plurality of subcells are stored, in advance, in the subcell layoutlibrary 701 in FIG. 8. Each subcell is formed by at least one transistorsuch as inverter gates 801, 802 and 803 having different drivingcapabilities, NAND gates 804, 805 and 806 having different drivingcapabilities, NOR gates 807, 808 and 809 having different drivingcapabilities, and a register 810 shown in FIG. 8. An ordinary cellcomprises one logic having the predetermined driving capability.Therefore, the cell may be divided into a logic portion and a drivingcapability portion, and various kinds of subcells may be stored in thedriving capability portion.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the input net list 702. The reference numeral901 designates a NOR gate, the reference numeral designates an invertergate, the reference numeral 903 designates a NAND gate, and thereference numerals 904 and 905 designate OR gates. The referencenumerals 906, 907, 908, 909 and 910 designate input registers, and thereference numerals 911 and 912 designate output registers.

In the net list shown in FIG. 9, each of the layouts of the gates 901,902 and 903 is prepared in the subcell layout library 701 shown in FIG.8. The OR gates 904 and 905 do not exist in the subcell layout library701. The main cell layout generating processing 703 selects each subcellof the subcell layouts 802, 803, 807 and 808 from the subcell layoutlibrary 701 in order to generate the OR gates 904 and 905 which do notexist in the subcell layout library 701. The selected subcells 802 and807 are caused to adjoin each other to generate a layout whichcorresponds to the OR gate 904. The selected subcells 803 and 808 arecaused to adjoin each other to generate a layout which corresponds tothe OR gate 905.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a layout thus generated, in which thereference numeral 1001 designates a layout which corresponds to the ORgate 904 and the reference numeral 1002 designates a layout whichcorresponds to the OR gate 905. The generated layouts are registered andstored as main cell layouts in the main cell layout library 704.

The automatic arrangement and wiring processing 705 outputs the layoutdata 706 which corresponds to the given net list 702 shown FIG. 9 basedon the subcell layout library 701 and the main cell layout library 704which is generated as described above. FIG. 11 shows an example of thelayout data 706 output from the automatic arrangement and wiringprocessing 705. In FIG. 11, the reference numeral 1101 designates a cellline. The cell line 1101 has the subcells 801, 805, 807 and 810 and themain cells 1001 and 1002 arranged and wired.

Thus, the subcells are combined to form the circuit portion including acomposite gate in the layout design using the flowchart according to thepresent embodiment. Consequently, it is possible to perform layoutdesign using the existing automatic arrangement and wiring processingwithout preparing many kinds of layout cells in advance. Furthermore,the newly generated main cell has subcells arranged adjacently to eachother. Therefore, the delay caused by the wiring can be suppressed, andthe consumed power can be reduced.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Thepresent embodiment of the invention shows a layout designing methodwherein the basic portion of a pass-transistor gate is included as asubcell in the second embodiment described above.

The present embodiment will be described below in accordance with theflowchart of FIG. 7 with reference to FIGS. 12, 13, 14 and 15. While theinside of the cell is shown by a symbol in FIGS. 12, 14 and 15, it isactually drawn by a mask pattern.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the subcell layout library 701. A subcellshown in FIG. 12 includes a cell formed by two transistors having thesame polarity in which source terminals are connected to each other. Inthe subcell layout library 701 shown in FIG. 12, the reference numerals1201, 1202 and 1203 designate subcells of N-channel pass-transistorgates having different driving capabilities, the reference numeral 1204designates a subcell comprising an inverter gate, and the referencenumeral 1205 designates a subcell comprising a register.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the net list 702 which is input, andrepresents a full adder which is incorporated by using thepass-transistor logic. In FIG. 13, the reference numerals 1301 and 1302designate inverter gates, the reference numerals 1303, 1304 and 1305designate input registers, the reference numerals 1306 and 1307designate output registers, and the reference numerals 1311 and 1312designate partial circuits.

The main cell layout generating processing 703 generates, as main cells,the partial circuits 1311 and 1312 shown in FIG. 13. The main celllayout generating processing 703 selects each subcell of the subcelllayouts 1201, 1202, 1203 and 1204 from the subcell layout library 701during generation in order to generate layouts which correspond to thepartial circuits 1311 and 1312. The selected subcells are arranged andwired to generate a main cell layout which corresponds to the partialcircuits 1311 and 1312. FIG. 14 shows an example of a main cell layoutthus generated, in which the reference numeral 1401 designates a maincell that corresponds to the partial circuit 1311 and is formed bysubcells 1201, 1202 and 1204. The reference numeral 1402 is a main cellwhich corresponds to the partial circuit 1312 and is formed by subcells1201, 1202, 1203 and 1204. The main cell layout thus generated is storedin the main cell layout library 704.

The automatic arrangement and wiring processing 705 outputs the layoutdata 706 which corresponds to the given net list 702 based on thesubcell layout library 701 and the main cell layout library 704 that isgenerated as described above. FIG. 15 shows an example of the layoutdata 706 output from the automatic arrangement and wiring processing705. In FIG. 15, the reference numeral 1501 designates a cell line. Thecell lines 1501 have the subcells 1205 and the main cells 1401 and 1402arranged and wired.

Thus, the subcells are combined to form a circuit portion using thepass-transistor logic in the layout design in accordance with theflowchart of the present invention. Consequently, it is possible toperform layout design using the existing automatic arrangement andwiring processing without preparing many kinds of layout cells inadvance. Furthermore, the newly generated main cell has subcellsarranged adjacently to each other. Therefore, the delay caused by thewiring can be suppressed, and the consumed power can be reduced.

While two N-channel transistors have been used in the presentembodiment, it is apparent that the same processing can also beperformed by using a subcell which is formed by connecting two P-channeltransistors so that the same effects can be obtained.

Fourth Embodiment

A method for verifying the timing of a semiconductor integrated circuitaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed below with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a cell (gate) in which the input capacity isvaried depending on the input signal of a terminal. In FIG. 16, thereference numeral 1601 designates a boundary of the cell, the referencenumerals 1602, 1603 and 1604 designate input terminals (input pins), thereference numeral 1605 designates an output terminal, the referencenumeral 1606 designates an N-channel transistor, and the referencenumeral 1607 designates an inverter gate.

In FIG. 16, when the input level of the input terminal 1603 is LOW, theN-channel transistor 1606 is turned off and the input load capacity ofthe input terminal 1602 is only the drain capacity of the N-channeltransistor 1606 if the wiring capacity is ignored. On the other hand,when the input level of the input terminal 1603 is HIGH, the N-channeltransistor 1606 is turned on and the input load capacity of the inputterminal 1602 is the capacity which is obtained by adding the drain andsource capacities of the N-channel transistor 1606 and the gate capacityof the inverter gate 1607 if the wiring capacity is ignored.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a circuit using the cell of FIG. 16. In FIG.17, the reference numeral 1701 designates the cell shown in FIG. 16, thereference numeral 1702 designates another cell, the reference numeral1703 designates an output terminal of the cell 1702, the referencenumeral 1704 designates an input terminal of the cell 1702, and thereference numerals 1705, 1706, 1707 and 1708 designate terminals forconnection to the outside. The input terminal 1602 of the cell 1701 isconnected to the output terminal 1703 of the cell 1702. The inputterminal 1704 of the cell 1702 is connected to the terminal 1705 forconnection to the outside. Terminals 1603, 1604 and 1605 of the cell1701 are connected to the terminals 1706, 1707 and 1708 for connectionto the outside, respectively.

When verifying the timing of the circuit shown in FIG. 17, it isnecessary to obtain the delay value of the output terminal 1703 of thecell 1702. Consequently, it is necessary to calculate the load capacityof the input terminal 1602 of the cell 1701 connected to the outputterminal 1703. As described above, the input capacity of the inputterminal 1602 of the cell 1701 is the minimum when the input level ofthe input terminal 1603 is LOW, while the input capacity of the inputterminal 1602 of the cell 1701 is the maximum when the input level ofthe input terminal 1603 is HIGH. For this reason, the minimum inputcapacity value and the maximum input capacity value are obtained inadvance, and delay values are obtained for each case. These minimum andmaximum delay values are defined for the cell 1701 and transferred to asimulator so that it is verified by static timing analysis whether ornot a desired timing is satisfied for both delay values.

If a net list has a plurality of cells having the terminal in which theinput capacity is varied depending on the input signal or the internalstate as shown in FIG. 16, it is verified whether or not the desiredtiming is satisfied by performing several kinds of verification with adelay value which is obtained by properly combining the maximum andminimum delay values of each output terminal of each cell.

The cell having the terminal in which the input capacity is varieddepending on the input signal or the internal state may have thestructure shown in FIG. 16 or may have the circuit using thepass-transistor logic shown in FIG. 14. In the case where the partialcircuits 206 and 207 shown in FIG. 2 according to the first embodimentare formed by the circuit using the pass-transistor logic, the fourthembodiment may be applied to the partial circuit delay analyzingprocessing 112 and the timing verifying processing 114 according to thefirst embodiment (see FIG. 1).

According to the timing verifying method according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible toaccurately verify whether or not desired timing constraints can besatisfied for the net list including the cell having the terminal inwhich the input capacity is varied depending on the input signal or theinternal state in consideration of the minimum and maximum delay valuestaken in all combinations which are possible.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 18 is a system flowchart according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 18, the reference numeral 2101 designates agiven net list, the reference numeral 2102 designates a pass-transistorlogic layout cell library for forming a circuit using thepass-transistor logic, the reference numeral 2103 designates a CMOSlogic layout cell library for forming a circuit using the CMOS logic,the reference numeral 2104 designates a block layout which is generated,and the reference numeral 2110 designates an automatic arrangement andwiring processing for generating the block layout 2104 from the givennet list 2101 by using the layout cell libraries 2102 and 2103.

FIG. 19 shows a specific example of a layout cell library stored in thecell libraries 2102 and 2103. The reference numeral 2201 designates aninverter, and the reference numeral 2202 designates a 2-input NAND gate.The reference numerals 2204 and 2205 designate circuits having thetransistor level in which the inverter 2201 and the 2-input NAND gate2202 are implemented by the CMOS logic, respectively. The referencenumerals 2207 and 2208 designate CMOS logic layout cells of the circuits2204 and 2205, respectively. The CMOS logic layout cells 2207 and 2208are stored in the CMOS logic layout cell library 2103. In addition, alogic gate in which at least one of the area, the delay and the consumedpower is smaller by using the CMOS logic than by using thepass-transistor logic is implemented by the CMOS logic, and its CMOSlogic layout cell is stored in the CMOS logic layout cell library 2103.

The reference numeral 2203 designates a half adder, the referencenumeral 2206 designates a circuit having the transistor level whichimplements the half adder 2203 by using the pass-transistor logic, andthe reference numeral 2209 designates a pass-transistor logic layoutcell in which the circuit 2206 is formed by using the pass-transistorlogic. The layout cell 2209 is stored in the pass-transistor logiclayout cell library 2102. In addition to the layout cell 2209, a logicgate in which at least one of the area, the delay and the consumed poweris smaller by using the pass-transistor logic than by using the CMOSlogic is implemented by the pass-transistor logic, and itspass-transistor logic layout cell is stored in the pass-transistor logiclayout cell library 2102.

For example, FIG. 44 shows an example of a cell stored in thepass-transistor logic layout cell library 2102. The reference numeral4701 designates a circuit having the transistor level in which anexclusive-OR circuit is implemented by using the pass-transistor logic,the reference numeral 4702 designates a circuit having the transistorlevel in which a selector is implemented by using the pass-transistorlogic, the reference numeral 4703 designates a circuit having thetransistor level in which the half adder is implemented by using thepass-transistor logic, and the reference numeral 4704 designates acircuit having the transistor level in which the full adder isimplemented by using the pass-transistor logic. A layout cell whichcorresponds to each circuit is stored in the pass-transistor logiclayout cell library 2102.

FIG. 45 is a circuit diagram in which each circuit shown in FIG. 44 isimplemented by an inverter gate, an AND gate, a NAND gate, an OR gate, aNOR gate and a composite gate thereof. The reference numeral 4801designates an exclusive-OR circuit, the reference numeral 4802designates a selector, the reference numeral 4803 designates a halfadder, and the reference numeral 4804 designates a full adder. These aredrawn by circuits having the transistor level of the CMOS logic in FIG.46. The reference numeral 4901 designates a circuit having thetransistor level of the exclusive-OR circuit 4801, the reference numeral4902 designates a circuit having the transistor level of the selector4802, the reference numeral 4903 designates a circuit having thetransistor level of the half adder 4803, and the reference numeral 4904designates a circuit having the transistor level of the full adder 4804.If they are implemented by using the CMOS logic, the exclusive-ORcircuit can be formed by 10 transistors, the selector can be formed by14 transistors, the half adder can be formed by 14 transistors and thefull adder can be formed by 30 transistors. It is apparent from thesefigures that the number of transistors is greater than in the circuitusing the pass-transistor logic shown in FIG. 44. If all the transistorshave the same sizes, the sum of the channel widths of the transistors isreduced. In case of the exclusive-OR circuit, while the number of stagesof the transistors which are connected in maximum series in a circuitusing the pass-transistor logic from an input to an output is 1, thenumber of stages of the transistors is 2 in a circuit using the CMOSlogic. Consequently, it is apparent that the delay from the input to theoutput is reduced.

In the layout cells 2207, 2208 and 2209, the reference numerals 2210 and2211 designate a power terminal (power line) and a ground terminal(ground line) of the CMOS logic layout cells 2207 and 2208 respectively,and the reference numerals 2212 and 2213 designate a power terminal(power line) and a ground terminal (ground line) of the pass-transistorlogic layout cell 2209 respectively. The spacing between the powerterminal 2210 and the ground terminal 2211 of the CMOS logic layoutcells 2207 and 2208 is set equal to the spacing between the powerterminal 2212 and the ground terminal 2213 of the pass-transistor logiclayout cell 2209. Consequently, the layout cell in the CMOS logic layoutcell library 2103 and the layout cell in the pass-transistor logiclayout cell library 2102 are arranged together in the same line so thata layout can be created by a standard cell method.

FIG. 20 shows an example of the layout of a semiconductor integratedcircuit created by the designing method according to the presentembodiment. By using the pass-transistor logic layout cell in thepass-transistor logic layout cell library 2102 and the CMOS logic layoutcell in the CMOS logic layout cell library 2103 in accordance with thenet list 2101, a block layout is created by the standard cell method byperforming the automatic arrangement and wiring processing 2110.

In FIG. 20, the reference numeral 2301 designates a CMOS logic layoutcell, the reference numeral 2302 designates a pass-transistor logiclayout cell, and the reference numeral 2303 designates a layout of theline in which the layout cells 2301 and 2302 are provided together inthe same line. The layout 2303 is arranged in a plurality of lines. Thelines are wired in accordance with the given net list 2101 so that theblock layout is created.

Each line has the common power line and ground line. If the power lineis formed between the ground lines by using the CMOS logic per gate, thelogic gate in which at least one of the area, the delay and the consumedpower is small is arranged in the circuit using the CMOS logic to answerthe purpose such as the superiority in area, the superiority in speedand the like. If the power line is formed between the ground lines byusing the pass-transistor logic per gate, the logic gate in which atleast one of the area, the delay and the consumed power is small isarranged in the circuit using the pass-transistor logic to answer thepurpose such as the superiority in area, the superiority in speed andthe like. Thus, the layout can be created. Consequently, the CMOS logicand the pass-transistor logic are selected in the high degree of freedomof design according to the required area, speed and consumed power sothat the desired block layout can be created by using the automaticarrangement and wiring.

Sixth Embodiment

A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

The present embodiment provides a method in which a plurality of basicpass-transistor logic layout cells are used, each basic pass-transistorlogic layout cell including four N-channel type MOS transistors, and arearranged and wired to form a composite pass-transistor logic layout celland to prepare a CMOS logic layout cell comprising a P-channel type MOStransistor and an N-channel type MOS transistor, and the layout of agiven logic circuit is created by using the composite pass-transistorlogic layout cell and the CMOS logic layout cell.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a logic circuit which acts as an input. InFIG. 21, the reference numeral 2401 designates a clock input terminal,the reference numeral 2402 designates a signal input terminal, thereference numeral 2403 designates a signal output terminal, thereference numeral 2404 designates a flip-flop cell, the referencenumeral 2405 designates a full adder cell, and the reference numeral2406 designates a 4-input OR-and-inverter logic gate cell.

The flip-flop cell 2404 and the logic gate cell 2406 are implemented byusing the CMOS logic layout cell. The full adder cell 2405 isimplemented by using the pass-transistor logic layout cell which isformed by the N-channel type MOS transistor. FIG. 22 is a circuitdiagram in which the full adder cell 2405 is implemented by using thepass-transistor logic. FIG. 26 is a circuit diagram in which the logicgate cell 2406 is implemented by using the CMOS logic.

FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram in which the full adder cell 2405 isimplemented by using the pass-transistor logic which is formed by theN-channel type MOS transistor. In FIG. 22, the reference numeral 2501designates an arithmetic circuit for addition in the full adder, and thereference numeral 2502 designates an arithmetic circuit for carry in thefull adder. The reference numeral 2503 designates an N-channel type MOStransistor, the reference numeral 2504 designates a power input portion,and the reference numeral 2505 designates a ground input portion. As isapparent from FIG. 22, in the case where the logic of the full adder2405 is created by a pass-transistor comprising the N-channel type MOStransistor, it can be implemented by 20 N-channel type MOS transistorsTr1 to Tr20. However, if the same logic is implemented by the CMOSlogic, it is necessary to use 40 MOS transistors including N-channeltype MOS transistors and P-channel type MOS transistors which are notshown.

An example of a layout cell which corresponds to the circuit diagram ofFIG. 22 will be described below together with a method for forming thesame layout cell with reference to FIGS. 23 to 30.

FIG. 23 shows an example of a basic pass-transistor logic layout cell2600 that is formed by four N-channel type MOS transistors having twopairs of two N-channel type MOS transistors whose sources are connectedto each other. In FIG. 23, the reference numeral 2601 designates anouter frame of the cell, the reference numeral 2602 designates a gate,the reference numeral 2603 designates a drain, and the reference numeral2604 designates a source, which are shared by the two N-channel type MOStransistors.

FIG. 25 shows a layout cell (composite pass-transistor logic layoutcell) in which the arithmetic circuit 2502 for carry in the full adderis formed by using the basic pass-transistor logic layout cell 2600shown in FIG. 23. FIG. 27 shows a layout cell (composite pass-transistorlogic layout cell) in which the arithmetic circuit 2501 for addition inthe full adder is formed by using the basic pass-transistor logic layoutcell 2600.

A method for forming a layout cell which corresponds to the arithmeticcircuit 2502 for carry in the full adder shown in FIG. 25 will bedescribed below. First of all, three basic pass-transistor logic layoutcells 2600 shown in FIG. 23 are arranged horizontally. Then, a wiringpattern layout cell 2700 which is prepared in advance as shown in FIG.24 is superposed on the basic pass-transistor logic layout cells 2600.Thus, the arithmetic circuit 2502 (composite pass-transistor logiclayout cell) for carry shown in FIG. 25 is completed.

In the wiring pattern layout cell 2700 shown in FIG. 24, the referencenumeral 2701 designates a cell outer frame, the reference numeral 2702designates a gate input terminal, the reference numeral 2703 designatesa drain input terminal, the reference numeral 2704 designates a sourceoutput terminal, the reference numeral 2705 designates a first wiringlayer, the reference numeral 2706 designates a power wiring layer, thereference numeral 2707 designates a ground wiring layer, the referencenumeral 2708 designates a contact layer from a diffusion layer to thefirst wiring layer, the reference numeral 2709 designates a secondwiring layer, and the reference numeral 2710 designates a contact layerfrom the first wiring layer to the second wiring layer.

FIG. 27 is a layout cell (composite pass-transistor logic layout cell)that corresponds to the arithmetic circuit 2501 for addition in the fulladder, which is formed by horizontally arranging two basicpass-transistor logic layout cells shown in FIG. 23. In this case, thebasic pass-transistor logic layout cell shown in FIG. 23 has a commonsource 2604 set to outputs X, Y, S and /S, and a drain 2603 set toinputs c, /c, X and Y as shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 30 shows a layout cell (composite pass-transistor logic layoutcell) which corresponds to the arithmetic circuit 2501 for addition inthe full adder. This layout cell has the arrangement which is differentfrom that of the layout cell shown in FIG. 27.

The layout cell shown in FIG. 30 is formed in the following manner. Thewiring of the arithmetic circuit 2501 for addition in the full addershown in FIG. 22 is converted as shown in FIG. 28. Based on the wiring,the common source 2604 is set to the outputs S and /S and the drain 2603is set to inputs I, II, III and IV for the basic pass-transistor logiclayout cell (exclusive-OR) 2611 provided on the right side as shown inFIG. 29(a) in the same manner as in FIG. 26, and the common source 2604is set to the inputs c and /c and the drain 2603 is set to the outputsI, II, III and IV for the basic pass-transistor logic layout cell (thelogic other than the exclusive-OR) 2610 provided on the left side asshown in FIG. 29(a). According to this setting method, the outputs I andII of the basic pass-transistor logic layout cell provided on the leftside are adjacent to the inputs I and II of the basic pass-transistorlogic layout cell provided on the right side for inputting the outputs Iand II. For this reason, the drain portions of the layout cells on theright and left sides are shared as shown in FIG. 29(b), and both layoutcells are wired. Accordingly, the drain portion is shared so that thearea of the layout cell can be reduced.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a circuit having the transistor level inwhich the 4-input OR-and-inverter logic gate cell 2406 shown in FIG. 21is described by the CMOS logic. In FIG. 31, the reference numeral 2901designates an input terminal, the reference numeral 2902 designates anoutput terminal, the reference numeral 2903 designates a P-channel typeMOS transistor, and the reference numeral 2904 designates an N-channeltype MOS transistor. As is apparent from FIG. 31, if the OR-and-inverterlogic gate 2406 should be implemented by using the CMOS logic, eight MOStransistors are required. However, if the same logic should beimplemented by using the pass-transistor logic comprising the N-channeltype MOS transistor, it is necessary to provide more transistors than inthe case where the same logic is implemented by using the CMOS logic,that is, 28 transistors.

FIG. 32 shows an example of a layout in which the logic circuit shown inFIG. 21 is implemented by using the composite pass-transistor logiclayout cell and the CMOS logic layout cell.

In FIG. 32, the reference numeral 3001 designates a block outer frame,the reference numeral 3002 designates an outer terminal, the referencenumeral 3003 designates a layout cell which corresponds to the flip-flop2404, the reference numeral 3004 designates a layout cell whichcorresponds to the full adder 2405, the reference numeral 3005designates a layout cell which corresponds to the logic gate 2406, thereference numeral 3006 designates a wiring which connects terminals, thereference numeral 3007 designates a clock signal input terminal, thereference numeral 3008 designates a power terminal, and the referencenumeral 3009 designates a ground terminal. The layout cell 3003 whichcorresponds to the flip-flop 2404 and the layout cell 3005 whichcorresponds to the logic gate 2406 are formed by a CMOS logic layoutcell. The full adder 3004 is formed by the pass-transistor logic layoutcell using the N-channel type MOS transistor.

According to the present embodiment described above, each logic portionis implemented by using the CMOS logic layout cell or thepass-transistor logic layout cell which is optimum, and is combined foruse so that a layout which is more compact can be created. In addition,it is possible to form a composite pass-transistor logic layout cell bysuperposing a wiring pattern layout cell on the basic pass-transistorlogic layout cell comprising the N-channel type MOS transistor.

In the basic pass-transistor logic layout cell, furthermore, an outputportion is arranged on the outside to perform wiring so that thediffusion layer can be shared to form a layout cell having the smallerarea.

Seventh Embodiment

A seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described belowwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 33 is a system flowchart showing the flow of a method forautomatically generating a completed layout cell in which thepredetermined logic is implemented by using a unit pass-transistor logiclayout cell comprising an N-channel type MOS transistor.

In FIG. 33, the reference numeral 3101 designates a net list having thetransistor level to be input, the reference numeral 3102 designates aprocessing for converting the input net list into a graph, the referencenumeral 3103 designates a processing for arranging the apex of the graphin order, the reference numeral 3104 designates a processing forreplacing the apex with a layout cell, the reference numeral 3105designates a processing for assigning a wiring to a track, the referencenumeral 3106 designates a processing for performing the wiring, and thereference numeral 3107 designates layout data to be generated.

The processing for the method for automatically generating a layout cellaccording to the present embodiment will be described below in detail inaccordance with the flow shown in FIG. 33 by using examples of FIGS. 34,35 and 36.

FIG. 34 shows an example of a circuit using the pass-transistor logiccomprising an N-channel type MOS transistor which acts as an input. InFIG. 34, the reference numeral 3201 designates the N-channel type MOStransistor, the reference numeral 3202 designates a pair of transistorscomprising two N-channel type MOS transistors which form a unit layoutcell and have respective sources connected to each other, the referencenumeral 3203 designates an input terminal, and the reference numeral3204 designates an output terminal. The processing will be describedbelow by using the data as an input example.

In the processing 3102, each N-channel type MOS transistor pair 3202 ofthe input net list acts as an apex. The connecting relationship betweenthe apexes is caused to correspond to a branch to make a graph.

FIG. 35 is a graph which corresponds to the net list shown in FIG. 34.In FIG. 35, the reference numeral 3301 designates an apex whichcorresponds to the transistor pair 3202 including two N-channel type MOStransistors whose sources are connected to each other, the referencenumeral 3302 designates a branch which represents the connectingrelationship of the transistor pair 3202, and the reference numeral 3303designates the sequence of the apexes to be retrieved during thearrangement thereof in order. In this sequence of retrieval, the apexesare arranged in order of d, b, e, a, f, c and g. This order ischaracterized in that the descendant of each apex always branches off tothe right and the left. Accordingly, inputs to two drain terminals ofeach transistor pair which corresponds to the apex can be wired by thesame track. The alphabet of the apex shown in FIG. 35 corresponds to thealphabet affixed to the transistor pair 3202 shown in FIG. 34.

The apexes are arranged in order in the processing 3103. Then, each apexis replaced with a cell in the processing 3104. Thereafter, each wiringis assigned to a wiring track in the processing 3105. This processingmay be a method such as a left edge algorithm or a non-deterministicmethod such as simulated annealing. Finally, detailed wiring isperformed in the processing 3106. Thus, layout data 3107 is created.

FIG. 36 is a layout diagram which corresponds to the circuit diagram ofFIG. 34. In FIG. 36, the reference numeral 3401 designates a layout cellwhich corresponds to each apex, the reference numeral 3402 designates awiring track, the reference numeral 3403 designates a wiring, and thereference numeral 3404 designates a terminal. The alphabet affixed to atransistor pair shown in FIG. 36 is the alphabet affixed to thetransistor pair 3202 shown in FIG. 34 and the alphabet affixed to theapex 3301 shown in FIG. 35.

According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible toautomatically generate a completed layout cell which implements acircuit using the pass-transistor logic by a unit layout cell comprisingthe N-channel type MOS transistor. In addition, in the case where eachunit layout cell is arranged in one dimension, the number of wiringtracks can be decreased.

The first to seventh embodiments described above can be realized by ahardware structure shown in FIG. 43. In FIG. 43, the reference numeral4601 designates a display unit, the reference numeral 4602 designates akeyboard for input, the reference numeral 4603 designates a centralprocessing unit, and the reference numeral 4604 designates a memory inwhich each information is stored.

Eighth Embodiment

An eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described belowwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 37 shows an example of a semiconductor integrated circuit having acircuit using the CMOS logic and a circuit using the pass-transistorlogic.

In FIG. 37, the reference numeral 4001 designates an adder using thepass-transistor logic, and the reference numeral 4002 designates aninverter using the CMOS logic. The circuit 4001 using thepass-transistor logic is formed by an N-channel type MOS transistor 4003having a low threshold voltage (for example, 0.1 V).

The reference numeral 4005 designates an N-channel type MOS transistorhaving a higher threshold voltage (for example, 0.7 V) than that of theN-channel type MOS transistor 4003, and the reference numeral 4004designates a P-channel type MOS transistor having a threshold voltagewhich is almost equal to that of the N-channel type MOS transistor 4005.The reference numeral 4006 designates a constant voltage source for apredetermined voltage (for example, 3.3V) having the signal value Hi,and the reference numeral 4007 designates a reference voltage sourcehaving the signal value Lo. They form the CMOS inverter circuit 4002together with the N-channel type MOS transistors 4004 and 4005 havinghigh threshold voltages.

The input of the circuit 4001 using the pass-transistor logic is theoutput of the CMOS inverter circuit 4002, and is changed from thepotential of the signal value Lo to that of the signal value Hi. Thecircuit 4001 using the pass-transistor logic utilizes the N-channel typeMOS transistor. Consequently, the output potential is equal to thesignal value Lo if the signal value Lo is output, and it is decreased bythe threshold voltage of the N-channel type MOS transistor if the signalvalue Hi is output. Accordingly, the signal value Hi is degraded. If adegradation in the output signal is great, a circuit on the stage nextto the circuit using the pass-transistor logic cannot recognize thesignal value Hi.

According to the present embodiment, the N-channel type MOS transistorhaving a low threshold voltage is utilized for the circuit using thepass-transistor logic. Consequently, a degradation in the signal can besuppressed even though the signal value Hi is output. Accordingly, it ispossible to omit a circuit for signal amplification between the circuitusing the pass-transistor logic and the circuit on the next stage, or toincrease the number of stages of a pass-transistor in the longpass-transistor logic so that the number of circuits for signalamplification can be decreased.

The case where the P-channel type MOS transistor is utilized for thecircuit using the pass-transistor logic will be described below. Whenthe signal value Hi is output, the output potential has the signal valueHi. When the signal value Lo is output, the output potential isincreased by the threshold voltage of the P-channel type MOS transistorbecause of the characteristics of the P-channel type MOS transistor sothat the signal value Lo is degraded. However, if the P-channel type MOStransistor having a low threshold voltage is utilized as the circuitusing the pass-transistor logic, a degradation in the signal can besuppressed in the same manner.

Ninth Embodiment

A ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

In FIG. 38, the reference numeral 4101 designates a partial circuitusing the pass-transistor logic. The circuit 4101 using thepass-transistor logic comprises N-channel type MOS transistors 4104,4105, 4106 and 4107 having low threshold voltages. The reference numeral4108 designates a reference voltage source having the signal value Lo.

The reference numerals 4102 and 4103 designate substrate bias generatingcircuits (substrate bias control circuits) which change the potentialsof the substrates of MOS transistors, that is, of the N-channel type MOStransistors 4104 and 4105 having low threshold voltages based on thevalue of an external input signal a of the circuit 4101 using thepass-transistor logic and the value of a signal /a which is obtained byinverting the input signal a, in which the signals a and /a act as draininputs.

The substrate bias generating circuit 4102 controls the potential of thesubstrate of the N-channel type MOS transistor 4104 having a lowthreshold voltage. If the input signal a has the value Hi and theinverted signal /a has the value Lo, a voltage having the signal valueLo is applied to the substrate of the transistor 4104. If the inputsignal a has the value Lo and the inverted signal /a has the value Hi,the substrate bias generating circuit 4102 applies, to the substrate ofthe transistor 4104, a voltage in such a manner that the thresholdvoltage is increased, that is, a voltage which is lower than the signalvalue Lo.

If the input signal /a has the signal value Hi and the inverted signal ahas the signal value Lo, the substrate bias generating circuit 4103applies a voltage having the signal value Lo to the substrate of theN-channel type MOS transistor 4105 having a low threshold voltage. Ifthe input signal /a has the signal value Lo and the inverted signal ahas the signal value Hi, the substrate bias generating circuit 4103applies, to the substrate of the N-channel type MOS transistor 4105, avoltage in such a manner that the threshold voltage is increased, thatis, a voltage which is lower than the signal value Lo.

In the case where a signal having the value Lo is input to the input aof the circuit 4101 using the pass-transistor logic and a signal havingthe value Hi is input to the input /a, the node of the input a iselectrically connected to a reference voltage source having the signalvalue Lo and the node of the input /a is electrically connected to aconstant voltage source having the signal value Hi. In this case, theN-channel type MOS transistors 4104, 4105, 4106 and 4107 of the circuit4101 using the pass-transistor logic have low threshold voltages.Consequently, a lot of leakage current flows. More specifically, theleakage current flows from the constant voltage source having the signalvalue Hi which is electrically connected to the input /a to thereference voltage source having the signal value Lo which iselectrically connected to the input a through the N-channel type MOStransistors 4105 and 4107 having low threshold voltages, an output f,and the N-channel type MOS transistors 4106 and 4104 having lowthreshold voltages.

According to the present embodiment, however, the substrate biasgenerating circuit 4102 applies the potential to the substrate of theN-channel type MOS transistor 4104 having a low threshold voltage insuch a manner that the threshold voltage is increased. Accordingly, itis possible to control the amount of the leakage current which flowsfrom the constant voltage source having the signal value Hi to thereference voltage source having the signal value Lo.

More specifically, the output of the circuit 4101 using thepass-transistor logic is determined by the signals input to the gates ofthe N-channel type MOS transistors 4104, 4105, 4106 and 4107 having lowthreshold voltages. In this case, when the signal value Lo is output asthe output signal of the circuit 4101 using the pass-transistor logic,the threshold voltage of a pass-transistor from input to output, thatis, of the N-channel type MOS transistor 4104 is increased by thesubstrate bias generating circuit 4102. Since the N-channel type MOStransistor is used as the pass-transistor, the signal value Lo is notdegraded because of the characteristics of the N-channel type MOStransistor.

In the case where the signal value Hi is output as the output signal ofthe circuit 4101 using the pass-transistor logic, the substrate biasgenerating circuit 4103 does not bias the substrate of thepass-transistor from input to output, that is, of the N-channel type MOStransistor 4105 in such a manner that the threshold voltage isincreased. Accordingly, the N-channel type MOS transistors 4105 and 4107keep the low threshold voltages. Consequently, the effects whichsuppress a degradation in the output signal are not damaged.

FIG. 39 shows an example of the substrate bias generating circuit. InFIG. 39, the reference numeral 4201 designates a partial circuit usingthe pass-transistor logic, and the reference numeral 4202 designates asubstrate bias generating circuit. The partial circuit 4201 using thepass-transistor logic comprises N-channel type MOS transistors 4203 and4204 having low threshold voltages.

In FIG. 39, the reference numeral 4205 designates a reference voltagesource having the signal value Lo, and the reference numeral 4208designates a constant voltage source having a low threshold voltage thatis lower than the reference voltage having the signal value Lo which canproduce the substrate bias effects capable of fully suppressing theleakage current for the N-channel type MOS transistor 4203. Thereference numeral 4206 designates an N-channel type MOS transistor whichis turned on with the signal value Hi and turned off with the signalvalue Lo when the reference potential is applied to a substrate and asource. The reference numeral 4207 designates an N-channel type MOStransistor which is turned off with the signal value Lo and turned onwith the signal value Hi when the potential of the constant voltagesource 4208 is applied to a substrate and a source.

The same signal value as that of the drain input of the partial circuit4201 using the pass-transistor logic is input to the gate of theN-channel type MOS transistor 4206. The inverted signal of the draininput of the partial circuit 4201 using the pass-transistor logic isinput to the gate of the N-channel type MOS transistor 4207. When thesignal value Hi is sent to the input a and the signal value Lo is sentto the input /a, the N-channel type MOS transistor 4206 is turned on andthe N-channel type MOS transistor 4207 is turned off in the substratebias generating circuit 4202. For this reason, a reference voltagehaving the signal value Lo is applied to the substrate of the MOStransistor whose drain input is the external input signal a of thecircuit 4201 using the pass-transistor logic, that is, the substrate ofthe N-channel type MOS transistor 4203. The threshold voltage of thetransistor 4203 is kept low. Accordingly, the signal value Hi of theinput a is propagated with the potential which is decreased by the lowthreshold voltages of the transistors 4203 and 4204 in the circuit 4201using the pass-transistor logic, and is output to the output point f.When the signal value Lo is sent to the input a and the signal value Hiis sent to the input /a, the N-channel type MOS transistor 4206 isturned off and the N-channel type MOS transistor 4207 is turned on inthe substrate bias generating circuit 4202. For this reason, thepotential of the constant voltage source 4208 which is lower than thesignal value Lo is applied to the substrate of the N-channel type MOStransistor 4203 whose drain input is the external input signal a of thecircuit 4201 using the pass-transistor logic. Consequently, thethreshold voltage of the transistor 4203 is increased. As a result, itis possible to suppress the leakage current which flows from the circuit4201 using the pass-transistor logic to the input a.

Also in the case where a P-channel type MOS transistor having a lowthreshold voltage is used as the circuit 4201 using the pass-transistorlogic, the effects of the present invention can be obtained if the inputsignal value and the polarity of the MOS transistor are changed.

Tenth Embodiment

A tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 40 shows an example of a semiconductor integrated circuit having acircuit using the CMOS logic and a circuit using the pass-transistorlogic. In FIG. 40, the reference numeral 4301 designates a partialcircuit using the pass-transistor logic which is formed by an N-channeltype MOS transistor 4303.

In FIG. 40, the reference numeral 4302 designates an inverter for signalamplification using the CMOS logic. The inverter 4302 amplifies theoutput signal of the circuit 4302 using the pass-transistor logic. Inthe inverter 4302, the reference numeral 4305 designates a P-channeltype MOS transistor having a threshold voltage which is almost equal tothat of the transistor 4303, the reference numeral 4306 designates anN-channel type MOS transistor having a threshold voltage which is lowerthan that of the transistor 4303, the reference numeral 4307 designatesa constant voltage source having the signal value Hi, and the referencenumeral 4304 designates a reference voltage source having the signalvalue Lo.

As described above, the circuit 4301 using the pass-transistor logic isformed by the N-channel type MOS transistor. Consequently, if the signalvalue Lo is output, the output potential is equal to the signal valueLo. On the other hand, if the signal value Hi is output, the outputpotential is decreased by the threshold voltage of the N-channel typeMOS transistor used for the pass-transistor logic so that the signalvalue Hi is degraded. If the output signal is greatly degraded, acircuit provided on the stage next to the circuit using thepass-transistor logic cannot recognize the signal value Hi. For thisreason, it is necessary to amplify the output signal of the circuit 4301using the pass-transistor logic. The CMOS inverter 4302 for signalamplification comprises the N-channel type MOS transistor 4306 having alow threshold voltage and the P-channel type MOS transistor 4307.

According to the present embodiment, the CMOS inverter circuit forsignal amplification which uses the N-channel type MOS transistor 4306having a low threshold voltage is added to the output of the circuit4301 using the pass-transistor logic which is formed by the N-channeltype MOS transistor. Consequently, even though the output signal Hi ofthe circuit 4301 using the pass-transistor logic is degraded, the Hioutput can be amplified at high response speed.

In the case where the P-channel type MOS transistor is used as thecircuit 4301 using the pass-transistor logic, it is apparent that theoutput signal value Lo of the circuit using the pass-transistor logicwhich is degraded can be amplified at high response speed if theP-channel type MOS transistor having a low threshold voltage is used inthe CMOS inverter circuit for signal amplification.

Eleventh Embodiment

An eleventh embodiment of the present invention will be described belowwith reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 41, the reference numeral 4401 designates a partial circuitusing the pass-transistor logic which is formed by an N-channel type MOStransistor 4404. The reference numeral 4402 designates an inverter usingthe CMOS logic for amplifying the output signal of the circuit 4401using the pass-transistor logic. In the inverter 4402, the referencenumeral 4406 designates a P-channel type MOS transistor having athreshold voltage which is almost equal to that of the N-channel typeMOS transistor 4404, the reference numeral 4407 designates an N-channeltype MOS transistor having a threshold voltage which is lower than thatof the N-channel type MOS transistor 4404, the reference numeral 4408designates a constant voltage source having the signal value Hi, and thereference numeral 4405 designates a reference voltage source having thesignal value Lo.

In the same manner as in the ninth embodiment, the circuit 4401 usingthe pass-transistor logic utilizes the N-channel type MOS transistor.For this reason, when the signal value Lo is output, the outputpotential becomes equal to the signal value Lo. On other hand, when thesignal value Hi is output, the output potential is decreased by thethreshold voltage of the N-channel type MOS transistor so that thesignal value Hi is degraded. However, the N-channel type MOS transistor4407 of the inverter 4402 using the CMOS logic for signal amplificationhas a low threshold voltage. Therefore, the output signal having thedegraded value Hi can be amplified at high response speed.

However, also in the case where the N-channel type MOS transistor 4407having a low threshold voltage is off, a lot of leakage current flows.If the output of the circuit 4401 using the pass-transistor logic hasthe signal value Lo, the P-channel type MOS transistor 4406 is on.Accordingly, even though the N-channel type MOS transistor 4407 is off,the leakage current flows from the constant voltage source 4408 to thereference voltage source 4405. In order to suppress the leakage currentflow, a substrate bias generating circuit 4403 is added.

The substrate bias generating circuit 4403 is operated by the outputsignal of the circuit 4401 using the pass-transistor logic and theinverted signal which is obtained by the built-in inverter so that thesubstrate potential of the N-channel type MOS transistor 4407 having alow threshold voltage is changed.

If the output of the circuit 4401 using the pass-transistor logic hasthe signal value Hi and an output f which is an inverted signal has thesignal value Lo, the substrate bias generating circuit 4403 applies avoltage having the signal value Lo to the substrate of the N-channeltype MOS transistor 4407. If the output of the circuit 4401 using thepass-transistor logic has the signal value Lo and the output f which isthe inverted signal has the signal value Hi, the substrate biasgenerating circuit 4403 applies a voltage to the substrate of theN-channel type MOS transistor 4407 having a low threshold voltage insuch a manner that the threshold voltage is increased, that is, applies,to the same substrate, a voltage which is lower than the signal valueLo. Thus, the leakage current flow is suppressed.

FIG. 42 shows an example of the substrate bias generating circuit. InFIG. 42, the reference numeral 4501 designates a partial circuit usingthe pass-transistor logic, the reference numeral 4502 designates a CMOSinverter for amplifying the output signal of the circuit 4501 using thepass-transistor logic, and the reference numeral 4503 designates asubstrate bias generating circuit.

The circuit 4501 using the pass-transistor logic is formed by anN-channel type MOS transistor 4504. The reference numeral 4505designates a reference voltage source having the signal value Lo. Thereference numeral 4506 designates a P-channel type MOS transistor havinga threshold voltage which is equal to that of the N-channel type MOStransistor 4504, the reference numeral 4507 designates an N-channel typeMOS transistor having a threshold voltage which is lower than that ofthe N-channel type MOS transistor 4504, and the reference numeral 4508designates a constant voltage source having the signal value Hi.

In the substrate bias generating circuit 4503, the reference numeral4511 designates a constant voltage source having a voltage that is lowerthan the reference voltage of the signal value Lo which can produce thesubstrate bias effects capable of fully suppressing the leakage currentfor the N-channel type MOS transistor 4507 having a low thresholdvoltage. The reference numeral 4509 designates an N-channel type MOStransistor which is turned on with the signal value Hi and turned offwith the signal value Lo when the reference potential is applied to asubstrate and a source. The reference numeral 4510 designates anN-channel type MOS transistor which is turned off with the signal valueLo and turned on with the signal value Hi when the potential of theconstant voltage source 4511 which is lower than a reference voltage isapplied to a substrate and a source.

If the output of the circuit 4501 using the pass-transistor logic hasthe signal value Hi, the P-channel type MOS transistor 4506 is turnedoff and the N-channel type MOS transistors 4507 and 4509 are turned on.For this reason, the substrate potential of the N-channel type MOStransistor 4507 having a low threshold voltage is set to the referencepotential 4505. Consequently, the MOS transistor 4507 acts as theN-channel type MOS transistor having a low threshold voltage. Thus, theresponse speed for the degraded signal value Hi is enhanced.

If the output of the circuit 4501 using the pass-transistor logic hasthe signal value Lo, the MOS transistor 4506 is turned on and theN-channel type MOS transistor 4509 is turned off so that the outputpotential has the signal value Hi. In the substrate bias generatingcircuit 4503, the MOS transistor 4510 is turned on with the outputsignal value Hi of the CMOS inverter 4502 for signal amplification sothat the constant voltage of the constant voltage source 4511 is appliedto the substrate of the N-channel type MOS transistor 4507.Consequently, the threshold voltage of the N-channel type MOS transistor4507 is increased by the substrate bias effects. As a result, theleakage current flow is suppressed.

Although the present invention has fully been described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to beunderstood that various changes and modifications will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes andmodifications depart from the scope of the invention, they should beconstrued as being included therein.

We claim:
 1. A method for designing the layout of a semiconductorintegrated circuit, comprising:a circuit dividing processing of dividinga given logic circuit into a combinational circuit portion and aregister portion; a transistor circuit converting processing of graspinga partial circuit in which signal paths are connected to each other,except for signal paths connected to the output of the register portion,in the combinational circuit portion, and converting the partial circuitinto a circuit having the transistor level; a partial circuit layoutgenerating processing of generating a layout cell of each partialcircuit having the transistor level which is obtained by conversion; ablock layout arranging and wiring processing of performing thearrangement and wiring of a cell-based layout by using, as unit cells,the layout cell generated for each partial circuit of the combinationalcircuit portion and each register included in the register portionrespectively, and creating the block layout of the given logic circuit;wherein said partial circuit layout generating processing prepares thelayouts of a plurality of subcells as a subcell library, the subcellsbeing formed by at least one transistor in advance; a main cellgenerating processing of arranging and wiring some subcells of theplurality of subcells in the subcell library to be adjacent to eachother to create a layout of a new cell, and registering the layout ofthe new cell as a main cell in a main cell library; and a partialcircuit layout arranging and wiring processing of arranging and wiring acell-based layout by using the subcell library and the main cell libraryas cell libraries, and generating a layout cell for each partial circuithaving the transistor level which is obtained by conversion.
 2. Themethod for designing the layout of a semiconductor integrated circuit ofclaim 1,wherein the subcell library includes a plurality of subcellsformed by two transistors having the same polarity whose sourceterminals are connected to each other.